Trolley.



No. 65l,055. Patented June 5, I900.

W. B. POTTER.

TRULLE Y. I Application fild Jan. 11, 1898. (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet l.

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Pate nted June 5; I900. w. B. POTTER.

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(Application filed Jan. 1 1, 1898.)

ZSheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES \VILLIAM B.

PATENT OF ICE.-

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 651,055, dated June 5, 1900. Application filed Jan ary 11, 1898. Serial No. 666,327. (No model.) I

To all 1071 0712 it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM B. POTTER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys, (Case No. 630,) of which the followingisa specification.

My present invention relates to trolleys for I electric railways having overhead conductors.

It is particularly adapted to constructions where it is difficult to make the trolley-alinement coincide with the direction of the track.

It is also useful with a numberof conductors, 1

as on the metallic return or polyphase systems, where the ground forms .no part of the circuit.

To fulfil its purposes, I provide a head for the trolley which is rotatable and in the case of a multiplicity of conductors also has a lost-motion connection of some sort, such as a ball-and-socket joint with limited play, 'with the trolley-pole. By this means in a system having a number of conductors I provide for the automatic individual adjustment of the different trolley-wheels to their respective conductors, so that the liability to displacement of the trolley is greatly reduced. Between this rotatable head and the base of the trolley I provide a suitable gearing, such that, irrespective of the direction of track or position of the trolley-pole, the head will be maintained in alinement with the conductors. In one of the forms of the device Ihave a plate rotatable upon the trolley-base, having two positions in which it is held fast bya suitable detentor look, so that the trolley may be reversed. Between this plate and'the'head Wires or cords extend, so that the head and plate form a sort of parallel-motion device. In another form the trolley-head is geared to the plate, as above constructed, by a shaft passing through the pole, the shaft being con- I'have illustrated the invention applied to' a car in Figure 1, which is a perspective view of a polyphase-conductor system. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in'section; and Fig. 3,

a plan of the trolley device shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a side elevation and plan of a modified form of trolley-head. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation and plan of the second form .of the device named in the statement of invention.

In Fig. 1, Afis the car, and B the trolley. The trolley-head is lettered O and is provided with wheels 0 c 0 which are upon the angles of an equilateral triangle. These wheels travel, respectively, upon the conductors 1 2 3, (the usual trolley -wires,) provided with strain-insulators S 9 and suitable insulated trolley-ears 5 G 7. The span-wire 4 serves to sustain the construction.

The device will be better understood from Figs. 2 and 3, where it is shown on. an enlarged scale. Referring first to the trolleyhead, upon a shaft 0* swivels a suitable frame carrying the wheels. Each of the wheels is insulated from the frame, and it is to be understood that the insulated conductors are carried down the trolley-pole in any convenient way, so as to make the connection with the motors ordinarily used. A crossarm 0 is also provided, and this arm is connected to the base by the wires 0 0, respectively, attached to its ends. A shield c is arranged to prevent the trolley catching in the span-wire should it become disengaged from the conductors. The vertical pivot C around which the head plays, is mounted on a ball which fits in a socket, giving it a limited rocking movement, so that the three corners of the triangle may adjust themselves to the different positions of the trolley-wires. As is well known, it is practically impossible to string the three wires in parallelism at all points.

A base-plate E is provided for attaching the trolley to the car. In this plate rotates the trolley-pole on a stud E. The socket b of the pole is of the usual form, but is provided with a lug b which registers with a notch in the plate E In the notch one or the other of the tumblers e e rests when the trolley is in either of its operative positions. The spring I) is of the ordinary form. I When it is desired to reverse the trolley, the pole is depressed in the usual way. The lug b engages with the tumbler e and forces it below the level of the plate E The pole is then swung around, the plate holding both of the tumblers down until the notch in it comes opposite the tumbler e, which then rises and stops the rotation, the plate being thuslocked while the trolley isin its operative positions. Upon the plate E are lugs (2 a to which the wires 0 c are attached. The operation of the parts thus described is as follows: One of the tumblers e e being in engagement with the plate E and that plate being fixed, therefore, relatively to the base, the lugs e e are also fixed, while the trolley-pole and base may rotate about the stud E, carrying with it the trolley-head; but this, it will be observed, is maintained by the wires 0' 0 parallel to the track, so that if the trolley-conductors be upon one side or the other of the center of the track but are still following substantially its alinement the trolley-head C will be maintaining good contact. This form of the invention is well adapted to those locations 1 where the trolley-conductors are at the side:

of the track, so that the trolley-pole projects at an angle to the course of the car.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I show at D a ditferent form of trolley-head. The wheels 0 c o are; carried upon springs d d d In this case a fixed stud d acts as a vertical axis for the trolley-head, the ball-and-socket joint being unnecessary, as the springs give the requisite I flexibility for accommodating the wheels to; difierent heights of wire.

In Figs. 6 and 7 in place of the long wires 0 a, connecting the trolley-head O and the base, I substitute beveled gears F F, working by the shaft f, passing through the trolley-pole. The shaft has attached to the lower one of the gears a cross-arm f, to which the? wires 0 c are attached, the rest of the base construction being the same as in Figs. 2 and 3. I show this feature of my invention applied to a single-trolley system; but it will be 2 evident that it is also applicable to double ori other multiple trolley systems. It will also be evident that the improvements described above are not restricted to three-trolley systems.

Of course the usual motor-conductors andl insulating arrangements are provided for the 1 trolley, as well as the ordinary trolley-cord. Particular illustration or description of these I well-known adjuncts is unnecessary.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A trolley device having a pole, a relatively-movable head, and a fixed base, and connections between the base and head main- 1 ttaining the head substantially parallel with i a fixed plane. 1

2. A trolleydevice having a pole, a rotatable head, and atlxed base, with gearing be tween the base and head so that the head is maintained substantially parallel to a fixed plane in all positions of the trolley-pole.

3. A trolley device having a pole, a fixed base, a rotatable head, and a number of trolley-wheels with gearing between the base and head, so that the head is maintained substantially parallel to the track in all position of the pole.

t. In a trolley, the combination of a pole, a rotatable head, a base, and gearing between the base and the head, the base having a rotatable part which is locked in one or the other of two positions when the pole is making contact with the conductors.

5. A trolley, comprising a number of trolley-wheels mounted upon a rotatable head, a trolley-pole, a fixed base for the trolley with respect to which the pole may rotate, and a parallel-motion device connecting the trolleyhead with the base.

6. A trolley for a railway system with several line conductors, having a pole, a rotatable trolley-head with a number of wheels thereon, and a universal joint between the pole and the head, so that the dilferent wheels may adjust themselves to their respective conductors.

7. A trolley fora railway system with three line conductors, consisting of apole, a head having three wheels at the angles-of a triangle, a universal joint between the pole and the head, and a base to which the pole is swiveled.

8. A trolley comprising three contact devices adapted to engage separate trolleywires, oneof which devices is mounted out of alinement with the other two, and all of whichare carried by a trolley-pole.

9. The combination of three line conductors and a contactdevice for each conductor, one of said contact devices being located out of alinement with the other two.

10. The combination of a trolley-pole, a trolley-head movablyconnected thereto, and three contact devices triangularly mounted on said head and adapted to engage separate trolley-wires.

11. The combination of a trolley-head with three triangularly-arranged contact devices carried thereby and adapted to simultaneously engage a plurality of trolley-wires, .and means forinsulatin g the contact devices from each other.

12. The combination of a trolley-pole, a

head pivoted thereto and carrying a plurality of grooved contact devices, a plurality of line conductors, and a parallel-motion device for maintaining the grooves of the contact devices in line with the conductors in all the working positions of the trolley-pole.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January, 1898.

\VILLIAM B. POTTER. \Vitnesses:

B. B. HULL, J Ln D. LANGDON. 

